Refuse truck



Oct. 14, 1941. A, LE LAURIN 2,258,988

REEQSE TRUCK Filed July so, 1940 3 S eets-Sheet 1 lg a n Fig. 2

Oct.- 14, 1941. A. LE LAURIN REFUSE TRUCK Filed July 30, 1940 3Sheets-Sheet 2 lllrllllllli" Patented Oct. 14, 1941 *uNiTEo sT 4 PATENTorrica My invention relates to improvements in bodies for motor vehicleswhich are to be used in transporting loose and bulky materials such asgarbage and other compressible materials.

An object of the invention is to provide a body for use in transportingbulky and compressible materials having a compression member, within thebody and operable from the cab of the vehicle, for compressing thematerial as it is loaded. In vehicles now employed in the.transportation of such materials the load is limited to the amount ofmaterial that can be loaded into the body manually. This is a wastefulprocedure since the equipment is capable of conveyin a muchgreater'weight of material than can be loaded into the body manually. Bycompressing the material as it is loaded a much greater amount ofmaterial may be loaded into the body and the number of trips requiredbetween the points of collection and the disposal point aresubstantially reduced. In cities where a large volume'of garbage iscollected, a large percentage of the operating time of the collectionvehicles is spent in traveling to and fro between the collection anddisposal points. Bycompressing the garbage, and thereby increasing thecapacity of the vehicles, the number of trips required to transports.given amount of material is reduced.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby power fromthe motor of the vehicle may be used to compress the material as it isloaded thereby assuring adequate compression of the material; I

A further object of the invention is to pro- 1 vide means, operable fromthe driver's position in the vehicle, for operating the compressionmember withinthe body of the vehicle. Thus, when the vehicle arrives atthe disposal point, the load may be discharged from the body without theuse of manual labor.

A further object of the invention is to pro-. vide a body which may beloaded either from the sides or the top and-having a plurality ofside-and top closures manually operable independently'of each other sothat material may be loaded and compressed in successive increments, andhaving an end closure for the discharge of the load.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled intheart.

These objects are accomplished .as described in the followingdescription and illustrated in erence characters are used in referringto like parts throughout-the various views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation. partly in section, of a vehicle fitted withrefuse body and compression Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the vehicle.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-4 Fig. 1.

Fig. 4'is an enlarged perspective view, partly in section, of thecompression member removed from the body.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 7.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-8 Fig. 'i.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the compression member.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan of the clutch releasing mechanism. I

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line iii-ill Fig. 8. g

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line I l-ll Fig. 9. 7

Fig. 12 is an enlarged vertical section, partly in elevation of thepower take-oil engaging and reversing-means and the clutch releasingmeans.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary plan of Fig. 1 2.

Fig. 14 is a sectional view taken on the line u u Fig. 12.

In Figs. 1 and 2 a motor truck 2i is shown provided with the bodygenerally denoted by the .ocking pins 26 normally held in theirprojected locking positions in their respective locking blocks 21 by theaction of extension springs 28.

The inner ends of the locking pins 28 are pivoted to opposite ends of alever 29 provided with a handle 30 for manual manipulation of thelocking pins. All doors open in the directions indicated by dotted linesin Fig. 2.

The compression member, or rake, illustrated V in Fig. 4 and generallydesignated by the numeral 3|, consists of a fabricated frame work 32upon which is mounted the imperforate plate 33 the entire assembly beingadequately braced against deflection when in use by a gusset 34 formedintegral with the balance of the assem- .the accompanying drawings inwhich like refbly. The lower portion of the plate 33 and frame 32 areangularly projected toward the rear of the body so that the rearwardmovement of the member during compression will tend to raise thematerial being compressed from the floor of the body and thereby preventexcess compression of the material near the floor while the material inthe upper portion of the body might remain loose. Another advantage ofthe angular extension to the lower end of the compression member is thatin discharging the load through the rear end of the body, all the loadmay be discharged without resorting to manual labor.

A wiper 35, composed of belting or some similar flexible material, isattached to the lower end of the plate 33 and projects rearwardly toengage the floor of the body at an angle and thereby prevent wedging ofmaterial beneath the compression member.

In order to provide connection for the driving means of the compressionmember thegusset 34 is projected downwardly through a longitudinal slotin the floor of the body and into the space between a pair of channelmembers 36 as shown in Figs. and 6. A suitable chain 31 is then attachedto each end of the gusset projection as a means of providing power forthe movement of the compression member backward and forward. As a. meansof reducing friction during movement of the member 3|, 9. series ofrollers 38 are provided at the rear of the rake. These rollers run ontracks 38, attached to the floor of the body, and, preferably, threerollers are used one of these rollers being located at the center of therake and one at either side. At the rear end of the downward gussetprojection are provided a pair of rollers 50 adapted to engage the innerfaces of the upper channel flanges. An examination of Fig. 1 will showthat when the rake is moving toward the rear and compressing thematerial against the rear of the body the pull of the chain 31 is towardthe right and the expansive force of the material being compressed istoward the left and acts against the upper portion of the rake. Thiscombination of forces produces a downward force on the rollers 38 and anupward force on the rollers 40 which is as it should be since therollers 38 engage the tracks 39 on the floor of the bodyand the rollers40 engage the flanges of the channel members 38 and thereby prevent anytilting movement of the rake while in operation.

The upper portion of the compression member 31 is provided with ascreened aperture 4| while the upper portion of the front end of thebody is provided with a similarscreened aperture 42 so as to permitvision throughout the length of the body from the operator's position inthe cab of the vehicle.

In describing the transmission of power from the motor of the vehicle tothe chain 3'! attention is invited to Figs. 1, 12, i3, and 14. Theseviews show the transmission case 43 of the motor vehicle provided with aconventional power takeoff unit 44 as a means of deriving power from themotor vehicle drive. Since the speed of the output shaft of the powertake-oil is relatively high and as a lower speed is desirable in orderto assure ample compressive force, a reduction in speed is made throughthe medium of a conventional worm geared speed reducer connected to thepower take-oil unit by the chain drive 45. The low speed shaft 45 fromthe worm gear speed reducer extends horizontally across the chassis ofthe motor vehicle and is, supported at its left hand end by a suitablebearing 41. A sprocket 48, for engagement with the chain 31, is mountedon the shaft 48. The height of the shaft 45 with relation to the chassisof the motor vehicle is such as to bring the upper portion of the chain31 into alignment with theinterior of the channel members 35. An idlersprocket 49 is mounted on suitable bearings located at the rear end ofthe body, the chain 31 passing around this idler sprocket to attach tothe rear end of the compression member 31. Thus, in effect, an endlesschain connects the sprockets 48 and 49 and consequently rotation of thesprocket 48 in either direction will impart motion to the member 3|, thedirection in which the members moves being determined by the directionof rotation of the sprocket 48.

The direction of rotation of the power take-oil.

. is reversible and when the power take-off control is in centralposition no power will be transmitted through the unit. However, it isnecessary to disengage the clutch of the motor vehicle in order to shiftthe power take-off control mechanism. As shown in Figs, 1, 12, and 13the power take-oil is provided with a control shaft 50 which carries atits forward end a pin engaging a slot in the rocker arm 5| mounted onthe shaft 52. The shaft 52 is provided with an arm 53 which connects tothe power take-off control lever 54 through the link 55. Figs. 1, 12,and 13 illustrate the power take-off control members in position forclockwise direction of rotation of the sprocket 48. Moving the lever 54to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 12 will cause thepower take-oil to impart a counterclockwise direction of rotation to thesprocket 48 and moving the lever 54 to its central position diseng'agesthe power take-off unit from the transmission of the motor vehicle. Asstated above, the clutch of the motor vehicle must be disengaged beforeshifting of the power take-oi! parts can be made. I

In order to eliminate the danger of running the compression member 3|into the ends of the body and thereby damaging, or breaking, parts inthe power transmission system, a mechanism is provided to operate inconjunction with the chain 31 for disengaging the clutch of the motorvehicle prior to engagement of the member 3| with either end of thebody. This safety mechanism is illustrated in detail in Figs. 8 to 13inelusive.

The portion of the chain 37 connecting the under sides of the sprockets48 and 48 is in contact, at its lower side with an inverted channelshaped (member 56 extending practically the length of the body andacting as a rest for the chain as it travels to and fro. One of theconnecting links in this portion of the chain contains the raisedportions 51 between which are pivoted a pair of latches 58 projectingfrom each end of the link. These latches normally occupy a horizontalposition, resting upon the upper face of an adjoining chain link .asshown in Fig. 9. Attached to the flange of the channel member 58proximate each end thereof are bearings 59 slidably supporting thesliding rods 60 and BI which are provided with the stops 52. The forwardend of the rod 60 connects to an upwardly extending portion of theclutch pedal 53. In these fliustrations it is assumed that the sprocket48 is rotating in a clockwise direction in which case the compressingmember 3| is traveling toward the right and the link 51 in the lowerportion of the chain is traveling to the left with each of these Fig, 12when the clutch will begin to slip and no further motion will betransmitted through the power take-off to the sprocket 48. If thesprocket 68 should be rotating in a counter-clockwise direction then thelower portion of the chain 8!v would be traveling in a right handdirection and the compression member 3| would be traveling in a lefthand direction. As the compression member 8| and the link 51 approachthe limits of their travelthe rear latch 58 contacts the rear stop 62and further movement of the chain will carry the stop with it andthereby moving the rod 8| to the rear. The forward end of the rod 5! isprovided with a pin engaging a slot in one end of a rocker arm 54. Theother-end of the rocker arm 54 is provided with a link 65 connectingwith the rear end of the forward rod 60. Thus, it is clear that rearwardmovement of the rod 5| will cause a forward movement of the rod 50 whichis desired to disengage the clutch of the motor vehicle when thecompression member nears the limit of its forward travel. 7

In the above described operations it will be noticed that the clutch ofthe motor vehicle is not fully disengaged, but only moved into slidingrelation, and before any shifting of gears can be accomplished theclutch must be fully disengaged manually in order to avoid stripping ofgears. However, after disengagement of the clutch it can not againbefully engaged so long as either of the stops 62 contacts itscorresponding latch 58. For this reason, insufllcient power would betransmitted through the clutch for normal operations unless some meanswere provided whereby v the clutch could be fully engaged again. Inorder to accomplish this result each of the latches 58 is provided nearits outer end witha projecting shaft 56 carrying at its outer end aroller 57. Mounted on the opposite side of the channel member from therods 80 and BI and proxi mate each end of the channel member arehousings 58 in spaced axial relation to the normal positions of theirrespective stops 52. Slidably mounted in these housings are pairs ofuprights 59 to, the upper ends of which are attached the slotted members10 in alignment with and adapted to receive the rollers 61 of thelatches 58. The vertical positions of the slotted members 15 arecontrolled by the positions of rollers 'li attached to the inner faceand located at the periphery of plates 12 which are pivoted to thehousings 68. The angular positions of the rollers H and the plates I2are controlled by means of a common tie rod 13 which connects pinsextending from the outer faces of the plates 12. Thus, movement of therod 13 in either direction will cause a corresponding partial rotationof all plates 12 about their respective pivots and,consequently, willeither raise or lower the rollers 1| controlling the vertical positionsof the slotted members 18. The rod 13 is provided at its forward end(Figs. 12 and 13) with a link 14 con necting with an arm 15 attached tothe shaft 52. Since the angular position of the shaft 52 is governed bythe power take-oft control lever 54 it follows that any movement of thelever 54 will serve to shift the power take-01f gearing andsimultaneously change the positions of the slotted members 10 occupy apartially raised position.

members 10 so that their positions will at all times correspond to thedirection of travel of the chainfl. V ll In Fig. 12 the lever 54 isshown in its forward position and since when the lever -is in thisposition the sprocket B8 is rotating in a clockwise direction it isclear that the lower portion of the chain 31 carrying the latches 58will be moving forward. Assuming that the portion of the chain carryingthe latches occupies the position illustrated in Fig. 9, then thecompression member 3| will occupy a position as shown in Fig. 1, bothmembers being near the extremity of their travel. Since the lever 54 isin its forward position, the tie rod 13 will also occupy its forwardposition and'the forward slotted member 10 will-be in its lowermostposition and in alignment for the reception of the roller 61 of theforward latch 58. 48 will effect engagement of the latch 58 with theforward stop 62 and cause a forward move ment of the rod 60 which movesthe clutch lever 53 a sufllcient distance to effect slipping of theclutch. Simultaneous with this last described action, the roller 51 hasentered the slot in the member 10 and when the clutch begins to slip thevarious parts are in the positions indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 9.Now, assuming that it is desired to reverse the direction of rotation ofthe sprocket 45, the clutch is completely disengaged manually afterwhich it is possible to shift the power take-off control lever 54 to theposition indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 12.. Simul taneously withthe shifting of the lever 54 the the portion of the chain carrying thelatches 58 will travel rearwardly while' the compression member 3| ismoving forward. ,As the compression member 3| reaches approximately thelimit of its forward travel the clutch of the motor I vehicle will againbe partially disengaged and it will be necessary to fully disengage theclutch manually and shift the lever '54 either to its neutral or reverseposition before the clutch can again be fully engaged.

It will be observed that when the lever 54 is r in its central positionthat both of the slotted In the event that movement of the lever 54occurred while one of the latches was engaged with its stop the latchwould then be raised out of engagement. If movement of the lever 54occurs while the latches are intermediate their stops, and the lever ismoved to its central position, there will, of course, be nothing toprevent complete return of the clutch to its fully engaged position. Nomotion is transmitted through the power take-oil when the lever 54 is inits central position therefore, there can be no fouling of r the rollers51 against the ends of the slotted members III while they are in theirintermediate positions. I

While the preferred form of the invention is here disclosed it is to beunderstood that such installations may be made so long as theseContinued rotation of the sprocket I changes do not depart from thespirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, a motor vehicle, a receptacle body mounted thereon, aplurality of top closures for said body, a plurality of side closuresfor said body, a pair of end closures for said body, locking means forall said closures, a transverse compression plate mounted forlongitudinal movement in said body for compression of material therein,an angularly projecting portion from lower end of said compression platesald'proiecting portion being inclined toward the rear of said body forthe purpose of assuring uniform compression of material at differentbody levels, wiping means attached to lower edge of said angularProjection for prevention of wedging of material under said compressionplate, a gusset formed integral with said compression plate andprojecting through a longitudinal slot in floor of said body forconnection to actuating means, wheels supporting front portion of saidcompression plate and engaging floor of said body, wheels mounted onrear end of said gusset for engagement with under sides of saidlongitudinal slot in floor of said body, a driving sprocket located atfront of said body, an idler sprocket located at rear of said body, achain passing around said sprockets and connecting at its ends with saidgusset extension through said longitudinal slot in floor of said body,reversible power transmission means between said driving sprocket andmotor of said vehicle, manually operable control means for said powertransmission means, means operable by said chain for disengaging clutchof said motor when said compression plate approaches the limits of itslongitudinal travel and means co-active with said chain and saidmanually operable control means for said power transmission means topermit re-engagement of said clutch when said manually operable controlmeans is moved to neutral or reverse position.

2. In combination, a motor vehicle including a receptacle body, aplurality of manually operable closures for said body, locking means forsaid closures, a transverse compression plate mounted for longitudinalmovement within said body and lower portion of said compression platebeing angularly inclined toward the rear of said body, a gusset formedintegral with said compression plate and extending downwardly through alongitudinal slot in floor of said body, floor engaging wheels for thesupport of front portion of said compression plate, a pair of wheelsmounted on rear of said gusset beneath floor of said body and engagingunder sides of said longitudinal slot in floor of said body, an idlersprocket at rear of said body, a driving sprocket at front of said body,a chain passing around said sprockets and ends of chain being secured toopposite ends of said gusset extension, reversible power communicationmeans between motor of said motor vehicle and said driving sprocket,manually operable means located in cab of said motor vehicle forcontrolling application and direction of power to said driving sprocket,a longitudinalsupport secured to chassis of said motor vehicle for thesupport of lower portion of said chain, a link in said lower portion ofsaid chain and extending upwardly therefrom, a pair of latches pivotedto said link and extending in opposite directions therefrom said latchesnormally occupying a horizontal position with their outer ends restingupon adjacent links of said chain, vertically movable roller engagingmembers secured to said longitudinal chain support proximate the frontand rear ends thereof, front and rear crank action adjusting members forgoverning the positions of said front and rear roller engaging members,a common link-connecting both front and rear crank adjusting members forsimultaneous movement thereof, connecting means between said common linkand said manually operable means in cab of said motor vehicle forcontrolling application and direction of power tosaid driving sprocket,housings mounted on side of said longitudinal chain support oppositesaid vertically movable roller engaging members and in spacedlongitudinal relation thereto, longitudinally sliding rods supported insaid housings, rocker arm and link connecting means between said slidingvehicle for movement thereof when either of said latches impartsmovement to either of said rods.

3. In combination, a motor vehicle including a receptacle body, aplurality of manually operable closures for said body, locks for saidclosures, a compressor plate movable longitudinally within saidreceptacle body for compression of material therein, reversible powertransmission means between motor of said motor vehicle and saidcompressor plate, manually operable control means in cab of said motorvehicle for controlling application and direction of power to saidcompressor plate, automatic means associated with said powertransmission means for disengagement of clutch in said motor vehiclewhen said compressor plate reaches the limits of its longitudinal traveland means oo-active with said manually operable control means and powersource for unobstructed re-engagement of said clutch upon manipulationof said manually operable control means.

4. In combination, .a motor vehicle including a receptacle body, aplurality of manually operable closures for said body, locks for saidclosures, a chain actuated compressor plate movable longitudinallywithin said receptacle body for compression of material therein,reversible power transmission means between motor of said motor vehicleand said chain, manually operable means for controlling application anddirection of power from the motor of the vehicle to said chain, clutchdisengaging means co-active with said chain and said clutch of motor insaid vehicle for disengagement of said clutch at extremities of saidcompressor plate travel and means co-active with said manually operablecontrol means and said chain permitting free engagement of said clutchwhen position of said manually operable control means is changed.

5. In combination, a motor vehicle including a receptacle body, aplurality of manually operable closures for said body, a chain actuatedcompression plate mounted for longitudinal movement within said body forcompression of material therein, reversible power transmission meansbetween motor of said vehicle and said chain, manually operable controlmeans for said reversible power transmission means, latches on saidchain for disengaging clutch of said motor vehicle when compressionplate reaches the extreme limits of its longitudinal travel, stops oper.

able by said latches at each end of compression the interior of saidbody when in their closed plate travel, slidable rods for transmittingmotion of said stops to said clutch, means for releasing said latches onchain from said stops to permit free re-engagement of said clutch whensaid control means is changed to neutral or reverse position andconnecting means between said latch releasing means and said manuallyoperable control means for said reversible power transmission means.

6. In combination, a motor vehicle including an enclosed body, aplurality of manually operable closures for said body including locksfor same, a compression plate mounted in said body for longitudinalmovement therein, sprocket and chain power means for actuating saidcompression plate, reversible power transmission means between saidsprocket and chain means and motor of said motor vehicle, meansco-active with said sprocket and chain means and said reversible powertransmission means for disen- 7. In combination, a motor vehicleincluding a receptacle body of substantially uniform transverse section,a plurality of top and side closures for said body mounted for flushalignment with positions, a pair of and closures for said body and thecombined area of said end closures being equal to or greater than thetransverse area of said body, a compression plate mounted forlongitudinal movement within said body, an angularly projecting portionfrom the lower endof said compression plate and extending throughout theengagement with the upper surface of the floor adjacent the slot in saidfloor, wheels carried by the rear portion of said gusset extension saidwheels being located beneath the floor of the body and in rollingengagement with the under with the upper and lower surfaces of the floorbody for utilizing power from the motor of the of said compressionplate.

vehicle for movement LOUIS A. LE LAURIN.

